ProfessorJames Armitage

I graduated as an Optometrist in 1996 (University of Melbourne) and spent 2 years researching the aetiology of keratoconus (a disease of the cornea) for my MOptom (1998, University of Melbourne). My PhD studies (University of Melbourne 2003) considered the role that essential fatty acids play in modulating visual function and cardiovascular disease. This body of work contributed to the growing notion that fetal and early postnatal malnutrition
can program visual function and cardiovascular function in adult life, irrespective of adult nutrition status. Aspects of the work were published Nature Medicine.

Postdoctoral studies at King's College London (2003-2005) and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute (2005-2007) continued this research theme. In December 2006, I was awarded a National Heart Foundation John Shaw Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, being the highest ranked applicant in Australia and moved to Monash University upon being awarded a Monash Fellowship (2007-2012). I joined Deakin University in 2012 as a Senior Lecturer in Visual Function in Optometry, School of Medicine.

I was Optometry Course Director and Head of Vision Science from  2016 to 2024, and have served as Associate Head of School (International and Partnerships) in the School fo Medicine stince 2025.